Category Archives: Indian democracy

‘Gandhian fantasy has destroyed India’s strategic mind’ | Dr. Bharat Karnad

Posted on November 17, 2025 by Bharat Karnad

[Modi at the Gandhi statue outside the Indian embassy (the building to his left) on Massachusetts Avenue, Washington DC] A recent extended interview of mine conducted by Dr Hindol Sengupta, a professor at OP Jindal University, for his ‘Global Order’ … Continue reading →

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India is losing its digital sovereignty. Blame the combo of Jaishankar & Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal

Posted on October 30, 2025 by Bharat Karnad

[Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal]] According to sources not far removed from the policy Establishment, the 1994 Manipur cadre IAS officer and Commerce Secretary, Rajesh Agarwal, has surrendered India’s digital sovereignty by succumbing to, what else, US pressure. A draft-Free Trade … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, Cyber & Space, Decision-making, Defence Industry, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indian Politics, Indian state/administration, Indo-Pacific, Intelligence, Internal Security, Iran and West Asia, Islamic countries, MEA/foreign policy, nonproliferation, NRIs, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Relations with Russia, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, sanctions, society, South Asia, South East Asia, space & cyber, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, technology, self-reliance, Terrorism, Trade with China, United States, US., war & technology, West Asia, Western militaries | Tagged , , , , | 16 Comments

Geopolitics-geostrategics post-Sindoor, after Trump-tariff rift

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Bharat Karnad

This CHAKRA podcast “Why Trump Turned on India & Why It Backfired: The Sandeep Unnithan Show” was recorded on Aug 29, 2025 with Sandeep Unnithan. It was an hour long recording trimmed to fit a half-hour slot!

Posted in arms exports, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, China military, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Defence Industry, Defence procurement, domestic politics, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Navy, Indo-Pacific, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, Military/military advice, Missiles, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, Russia, russian assistance, russian military, sanctions, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Technology transfer, technology, self-reliance, United States, US., war & technology | 3 Comments

Modi’s good friend — Trump? Really?

Posted on December 12, 2024 by Bharat Karnad

[Uhmm…Smellin’ good, friend!] Come January 20, 2025, Donald J Trump will be re-installed as US President after the Joe Biden interregnum. And leaders all over are wondering what their rank-order will be in his court. The first invitation sent out … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, corruption, Culture, Cyber & Space, Decision-making, Defence Industry, Defence procurement, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, Great Power imperatives, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Indian state/administration, Indo-Pacific, Intelligence, Internal Security, MEA/foreign policy, Military Acquisitions, NRIs, SAARC, society, South Asia, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Terrorism, Trade with China, United States, US., Vietnam, war & technology, Weapons, West Asia | 57 Comments

Too late to deliver, Modiji

Posted on June 5, 2024 by Bharat Karnad

My last book — Staggering Forward: Narendra Modi and India’s Global Ambition, published in 2018 by Penguin in time for the 2019 general elections was prophetic in many respects. Most importantly in its conclusion that reeked of disappointment with his … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Defence procurement, domestic politics, DRDO, Geopolitics, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian state/administration, Indo-Pacific, society, South Asia, space & cyber, technology, self-reliance | 19 Comments

Disregarding seniority in military promotions — no bad thing to happen!

Posted on May 29, 2024 by Bharat Karnad

[The standing COAS aspirants] The surprising extension in service of a month afforded the incumbent army chief General Manoj Pande has scrambled the calculations about who his successor will be. The race that was supposedly between the current Vice Chief, … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, China, civil-military relations, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian Army, Indian democracy, Indian Politics, Indo-Pacific, Military/military advice, SAARC, society, South Asia | 13 Comments

India needs to erect Guardrails in its relations with America

Posted on December 2, 2023 by Bharat Karnad

[Modi with US Secretaries of State and Defence, Anthony Blinken and Lloyd Austin] In international affairs, relationships with friendly states are in greater need of guardrails than ties with adversaries because the worst can be assumed about the latter and … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Central Asia, China, China military, Cyber & Space, Decision-making, Europe, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Ocean, Indo-Pacific, Intelligence, Internal Security, MEA/foreign policy, NRIs, sanctions, society, South Asia, space & cyber, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Terrorism, Tibet, Trade with China, United States, US. | 10 Comments

The Pannun Affair reveals a penetrated Indian government communications system, and the atmnirbharta policy as a joke

Posted on November 29, 2023 by Bharat Karnad

[BJP protest: that’s Pannun on the poster] The critical and most worrying aspect of the Gurmeet Singh Nijjar and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun episodes that no one is paying attention to is just how deeply and extensively the US has penetrated … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, corruption, Culture, Decision-making, Europe, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian state/administration, Indo-Pacific, Intelligence, Internal Security, MEA/foreign policy, SAARC, society, South Asia, space & cyber, Technology transfer, technology, self-reliance, US. | 13 Comments

2036 Olympics in India? No, but, perhaps, 2060

Posted on November 4, 2023 by Bharat Karnad

The apparent success of the G20 summit in New Delhi in September this year no doubt spurred Prime Minister Narendra Modi into envisioning India as host of the 2036 quadrennial summer Olympic Games, which timeline is a bare 13 years … Continue reading →

Posted in asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, China, Culture, Decision-making, domestic politics, Europe, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, Great Power imperatives, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian Politics, Indian state/administration, Indo-Pacific, Japan, Northeast Asia, society, South Asia, United States, US. | 13 Comments

Bharat Karnad: India geostrategy, nuclear arsenal, and assassination of Homi Bhabha 

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Bharat Karnad

This is a wide-ranging interview conducted via video a little over a month ago by Dr. Stephen Hsu, Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science & Engineering at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA, for his ‘Manifold ‘ podcast No. … Continue reading →

Posted in Afghanistan, asia-Pacific/Indo-Pacific, Asian geopolitics, Bangladesh, Central Asia, China, China military, civil-military relations, Culture, Decision-making, disarmament, Europe, Geopolitics, geopolitics/geostrategy, Great Power imperatives, India's China Policy, India's Pakistan Policy, India's strategic thinking and policy, Indian democracy, Indian ecobomic situation, Indian para-military forces, indian policy -- Israel, indian policy -- Israel, Iran and West Asia, Indian state/administration, Indo-Pacific, Intelligence, Iran and West Asia, Islamic countries, Israel, MEA/foreign policy, Military/military advice, Missiles, Myanmar, nonproliferation, North Korea, Northeast Asia, Nuclear Policy & Strategy, nuclear power, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Pakistan military, Pakistan nuclear forces, Russia, society, South Asia, South East Asia, space & cyber, Strategic Forces Command, Strategic Relations with South East Asia & Far East, Strategic Relations with the US & West, Taiwan, technology, self-reliance, Tibet, Trade with China, UN, United States, US., Vietnam, war & technology, Weapons | 13 Comments